US envoy: Tajikistan to give airspace to NATO Afghan suply

Tajikistan has agreed to give its airspace for transport of NATO supplies to Afghanistan, the U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan said.

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06 Şubat 2009 Cuma 10:08

Tajikistan has agreed to give its airspace for transport of NATO supplies to Afghanistan, the U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan said on Friday.

Kyrgyzstan, another Central Asian nation, said this week it would shut down a key U.S. military airbase on its territory, leaving the United States scrambling to find alternative supply routes for NATO forces in Afghanistan. "The (Tajik) president confirmed his readiness to offer the country's airspace for non-military NATO supplies bound for Afghanistan," Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson, speaking in Russian, told reporters.

"This necessity emerged after a decision was made to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan," she said.

Tajikistan, an impoverished nation bordering Afghanistan, had said before it was considering offering its airspace for certain types of supplies bound for Afghanistan.